Soldier Chandu Babulal Chavan, who had “inadvertently” strayed across the Line of Control (LoC) in 2016 after the surgical strikes and spent nearly four months in captivity in Pakistan, has sought premature retirement.

“The Pakistani forces have exerted great restraint but this restraint should not be construed as a sign of weakness. Any Indian misadventure on the LoC and Working Boundary can lead to a strategic miscalculation,” Foreign Office spokesman Mohammad Faisal said.

Following the recent visit of Home Minister Rajnath Singh to the state, the Centre had approved construction of another 14,460 bunkers at a cost of Rs 415.73 crore, he said in reply to a written question.

According to Defence Ministry sources, the Pakistani army resorted to an unprovoked and indiscriminate targeting of defence and civilian facilities in Mankote area using small arms, automatics, and mortars.

The residents of Silikote, Balkote, Tilawari, Churanda and Batgarh have reportedly started fleeing their villages early this morning in view of the ceasefire violation by the Pakistani troops at regular intervals since Monday.

Written by Sushant Singh
| New Delhi |
Updated: February 16, 2018 at 4:59 am

This move is part of the proactive stance adopted by the Army against Pakistani posts on the LoC since September 2016, when it conducted surgical strikes against terror launch pads in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).

The NIA had said that active Hizbul terrorists, who have crossed over to Pakistan in the garb of traders, are also involved in trade across the LoC and misuse it to send money and weapons to the Indian side from PoK and Pakistan and some truck drivers are also involved in the activity.